Dr Reddy's Laboratories, in association with the Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON), has launched OncoQuest, a specialised Helpline for doctors, at Oncology '02, in Hyderabad on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh inaugurated the Helpline by making the first call, which was attended by Dr Purvish Parikh, founder member of ICON.

This is the first joint summit of the Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology and the Indian Society of Oncology. It is being held in Mumbai from November 14-17. The summit would focus on current views of evidenced-based practice and future trends in Oncology.

According to a press release from Dr Reddy's, OncoQuest will provide free specialised oncology advice to the physicians for helping them improve cancer patient management. The incidence of cancer is growing at an alarming rate in India. This is due to several reasons like lack of awareness of prevention and screening programmes, lack of healthcare facilities, fear and fatalistic attitude among the patients. Compounding this problem is the fact that 70% of the patients are referred to cancer centres at an advanced stage.

The Helpline is aimed at providing the doctors with assistance in saving lives and improving the quality of life of a cancer patient. It will be manned by a team of experienced oncologists based in Mumbai. They will be supported by oncologists spread across the country. The Helpline will be operational round-the-clock.

According to L G Murali, General Manager, Critical Care Division, Dr Reddy's, "Every year 8-10 lakh people are diagnosed with cancer. But only a small portion of these patients receive specialised care at the 19 regional centres across the country. Since cancer entails prolonged treatment, most of the cases are followed up by the referring physicians at the patient's hometown. The Helpline aims to assist these referring physicians in managing the patients better. This will be of critical importance in the battle against this disease."

Any doctor having queries on cancer for better health management can call up the Helpline on 91-022-98922362867. In case when a detailed evaluation is required, the Helpline also offers the option of communicating by e-mail at oncoquest@hotmail.com or oncoquest@rediffmail.com and by Fax at 91-022-24902040. All calls on the Helpline would be logged for the purpose of future reference to ensure continuity in handling of the cases across the doctor-patient-doctor chain.